cliff1066's flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Many times we have told you about the arguments environmentalists are having with the Navy over sonar use that affects whale populations off the West coast, and many times we have told you about the government protecting North Atlantic right whales from ships off the East coast. Now, watch as I tie those two threads together to make the lanyard of your dreams. Wait. What?

Anyway, environmentalists are worried about the effect the Navy’s sonar use is having on the North Atlantic right whales’ birthing gounds off the East coast. Boo yah.

The National Marine Fisheries Service just approved the Navy’s plan to do sonar training along the Eastern Seaboard — the right whales’ habitat — but requires it to take precautions to protect the whales and other marine animals. The Navy also wants to locate an anti-submarine warfare training range on 75 miles off the north Florida coast. Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base and Mayport Naval Station are nearby. The facility, the Navy says, would enable it to train in a shallow-water environment. The affect [sic] on marine mammals would be negligible, the Navy said. [Associated Press via msnbc.com]

Government agencies in Georgia and Florida are concerned at the effects of these training plans, and “Florida has asked the Navy to cancel the project or at least close the range from mid-October to mid-April,” which is when the right whale returns to the area. Other than that, there’s really not a lot we know yet about the Navy’s plans, or the battle that may ensue. The Supreme Court ruled recently that the Navy’s security interests outweight the whales’ whale interests, but a settlement was reached between environmentalists and the Navy on the West coast. Perhaps we’ll see something similar here.

To do something about whales somewhere else, takepart and sign a petition asking President Obama to “stop the whaling and dealing.” Good one, Greenpeace.